02 October 2011

Kitchen Remodel: Final (kinda sorta) Week

Last Monday, the 26th, was Jerry's birthday. He got a new kitchen. It'll never look this clean again.

I'm so glad we went for a full-height backsplash behind the cooktop. (The photo below was taken at night, with a flash; the cabinets really do match the rest of the room.)

Pantry area w/door to garage

Actually, the kitchen wasn't quite ready for action until a bit later in the week. Monday was all about ceiling and under-cabinet lights, switchplates, sink fixtures, appliance hookup, and touchup this and that.

The new refrigerator was delivered and installed on Tuesday. Our antique Hoosier cabinet will move to the same wall, next to the fridge, with the pot rack hanging above it. To tell you the truth, it's already in place, but I'm not sure I want to show you pictures yet of our pristine new space repopulated with our mundane old stuff.

Wednesday morning the city inspector came and dinged us on a few small items. He counted four stairs to the garage; we'd counted three. Four or more require a full railing, top to bottom. Steve returned and built an extension. It actually looks better now than the one we were busted on.

The existing rail on the basement stairs was also out of compliance. Its open ends presented a snag hazard; someone might catch a sleeve on one. The finish carpenter will return tomorrow to craft a new railing.

Killer Handrail

We also lacked carbon monoxide detectors within 15 feet of all bedrooms. Even though these are way outside the construction zone, current code requires them, and we must obey. Jerry bought and installed a couple, one upstairs, one down.

The inspector also had a question about the legacy outlets on the east and south kitchen walls; a conversation with the electrician should satisfy his concern. He'll return tomorrow or Tuesday, after the downstairs railing's completed, and hopefully sign off on everything.

I've totally bonded with my new toy -- I mean, the the solution I found to functioning in a Tall Person's Kitchen. It's been indispensable the last couple of days as I load the upper cabinets. Plus it's fun to kick around the room.

The tomato season is waning, alas, but I managed to harvest two batches this week. Last night's dinner was pasta with fresh tomato sauce -- cooked by Chef Jerub, on our stove, in our kitchen.

7 comments:

It does look so pristine, but don't think your old things will take away from it. They will give it spunk and personality that is all yours! Let us see a picture when it is completely repopulated! Nice tomatoes, too.

Let the record show that Reva is a real stalwart. Almost singlehandedly she has been hauling load after load back into the kitchen from the basement and gradually loading stuff into the new cabinets. This morning I got a real measure of her organizational ability. It fell to me to empty the dishwasher. Most of that task involved standing in one spot -- lift a dish, put on shelf, grab a saucer, place on shelf -- etc. Thoughtful arrangement, no?